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Gravy boat skipper? ‘Wheel of Fortune’ puzzles baffle everyone — players, viewers, and probably writers too

From ‘Gravy Boat Skipper’ to ‘Protecting the Plate,’ this ‘Wheel of Fortune’ episode had fans scratching their heads

'Wheel of Fortune' has seen its fair share of unforgettable moments, but in a recent episode, a couple of puzzles not only baffled the contestants but also the viewers, who were left scratching their heads. On the February 19 episode of the show, Whitney Smith, a construction worker from Bushnell, Florida, competed on the show against Ify Unachukwu, from Woodland Hills, California, and Michael Kroll, the inventor doppleganger, from Oakland, California. While Smith had taken the lead in the initial rounds and amassed a cash prize of $27,460, Unachukwu and Kroll were left with $8,600 and $1,650, respectively.

In the Bonus Round, Smith carried the winning momentum, solving the puzzle, "Jogging Path." Overjoyed with a massive win, the contestant jumped up and down and screamed when host Ryan Seacrest said, “Congratulations!” Seacrest opened the Golden Envelope and revealed that she had earned an additional $40,000. Smith jumped again in joy and gave him another hug, as her total of $67,460 was announced.

However, the game wasn't as easy before Smith's big win. According to TV Insider, during the Mystery Round, Kroll got all the puzzles in the Before and After category, but he initially got stuck on a tricky puzzle that read: "_ R_ _ _  _ _ _ T S_IPPER." Despite several attempts, neither Unachukwu nor Smith could figure out the right answer. Surprisingly, when Kroll, who looked a lot like Albert Einstein, got the second chance, he nailed it with the correct answer: "Gravy Boat Skipper." Even though the player got $4,600 and a Wild Card from that round, fans were not happy. 

On Instagram, fans expressed their frustration, with one viewer writing, "The heck is a Gravy Boat? I've heard of a gravy TRAIN, but never a gravy BOAT." Others offered their own guesses, including "grand boat skipper." Things got even more interesting when the players proceeded to the Triple Toss Up Round and faced a far more challenging puzzle in the 'What are you doing?' category. Yet again, Kroll was the one who got the first two Puzzles right: "Protecting the trees" and “Protecting the seas.” The last one remained unsolved: "Protecting the plate."

On a Reddit thread, titled 'Protecting the plate???', a confused fan posted, "What does that even mean?"  Echoing the sentiment, another viewer wrote, "Ha ha! We were so baffled!" Commenting on the puzzle, a netizen said, "Interesting. I've been a diehard baseball fan for decades, and I've never heard the phrase 'protecting the plate' referring to the catcher. I've always understood what the catcher does as 'blocking the plate.' Protecting is what the batter does when he has 2 strikes on him, and he fouls off close pitches to keep from striking out. But apparently you're correct and referring to the catcher is an alternate, lesser-used, but still valid meaning. Who knew?" In an attempt to clear the confusion, another Reddit user explained, "When the batter in baseball has two strikes against him, he has to protect the plate. This means swinging at anything close because the umpire could call it a strike, which would be a strikeout."